Cadiz, Kentucky

Sorry we have been so remiss lately.

We spent several days in Green Turtle Bay, then decided we wanted to see more of the Cumberland, and set out on the 28th.

We thought we would spend one night at Lake Barkley State Park Marina, but have been here a week. We got the dinghy motor running reliably, and have been visiting the Park Lodge on a regular basis in the dinghy, fun. The first night we were entertained by a very good Elvis impersonater.

We have had some excitement while we were here. The gentleman travelling with us that is a commercial fisherman got his ear pierced! He received a spinning rod and reel for his 60th birthday and decided to try his had fishing for large mouth bass, and prceeded to hook his right earlobe.

Luckily the other man we are travelling with is a Doctor and has his instruments with him.

While Jim grimaced, Bob shoved the hook all the way through.....

...and Elizabeth, Bob's wife, and Nuclear Medical Technician, snipped off the barb.

The reason we have stayed so long is that the weather is so good and the fact that we are in a covered slip gives us a perfect opportunity to refinish the hand rails.

Here's Gail doing the hard part.

This Cumberland River we are on is not only beautiful, but is rife with history.

In about 1699 a party of settlers, bound for Nashville set out down the Tennessee River on flatboats. Among them were Colonel John Donelson and his young daughter, Rachael. This harrowing journey included nearly wrecking on Mussel Shoals, where a Tennessee town of that name now lies, being caught in a whirlpool called "The Suck," and being harrassed and fired upon by hostile indians. As it turned out, the party on one of the flatboats found they were infected with smallpox, and held back to distance them from the rest of the party. Unfortunately the indians were able to overtake them and their screams from the torture by the savages haunted the rest of the group. It was little consolation to know that the entire tribe would likely be wiped out by the disease of their victims.

When they reached the mouth of the Tennessee, where it empties into the 0hio, at a place we passed a few days ago, they turned right and proceeded upstream on the 0hio! Flatboats are wooden barges that were designed to go downstream only. They are huge cumbersome vessels. When river men took their cargoes down to New 0rleans, they broke them up and sold them for lumber. It was unheard of to try to propel them upstream, but they did, by poling, and dragging them with huge ropes called cordelles, they travelled up the 0hio, then turned right once again and up the Cumberland, right past where we are now, to Naslhville.

It is interesting to note that the young Rachael Donelson went on to become our seventh First Lady, wife of Andrew Jackson. She is said to have carried some of her frontier ways to the White House, and was often seen smoking a corn cob pipe.

This morning we plan to venture upstream to the little town of Dover, TN where the battle of Ft. Donelson took place. The victories there and at Ft. Henry, nearby on the Tennessere River were the first major Union victories in the Civil War, and catapulted Ulysses S. Grant to national prominence. It is said that when Lincoln was exulting over Grant's victories, Grants's detractors told him that Grant drank a great deal of whiskey. "Find out what brand he drinks and send a case to all my Generals..." he said, "...that man fights."

We will anchor in Hickman Creek which was right in the midst of the hail of rife balls during the battle. We have checked with the Barkley Lock and the Lake is a little over 3 feet below "normal pool". The entrance to Hickman Creek is said to be 7 feet at normal pool. We draw 4 feet. Hmmmm... we shall see.

More about Ft. Donelson later.

We recently learned that Gail Thomas reads the blog to Aunt Eloise. So, hey, Aunt Eloise and thank you, Gail. We love and miss you both!!!!!